'Make London 100 per cent clean' next mayor challenged

By Tereza Pultarova

Published Monday, November 23, 2015

Climate campaigners have urged the next Mayor of London to make the capital 100 per cent sustainable by 2050.

With electric cars, photovoltaic installations and energy efficient homes, the city has the potential to ditch all polluting technology by the middle of the century, climate campaigners Here Now and think-tank IPPR believe.

Although admitting that the venture would be clearly ambitious, the two organisations said that London is the best place to accept such a challenge.

In fact, if no such plan is put in place, the campaigners have warned that the city would not be able to meet the existing targets expecting emissions to be reduced by 60 per cent by 2025.

"Greening transport is key to the move, with calls for the next mayor to get everyone who is able out on their bicycles, to reduce the emissions from goods deliveries, to drive the roll-out of ultra-low emission vehicles and invest in public transport,” IPPR said.

The campaign is being launched at an event at which mayoral candidates will spell out their plans for making London a cleaner, greener city.

Businesses including the capital's biggest home builder, Berkeley Homes, and community groups will set out what they are already doing to switch to 100 per cent clean energy.

"London has some good low-carbon programmes and targets in place, but momentum has dropped off,” said Jimmy Aldridge, senior research fellow at IPPR,

“Delivery is far lower than the UK average. If the UK is to meet its national climate objectives then the capital must start leading by example.”